The present invention relates to a locking device having a control device that indicates, in a simple manner and with a high degree of reliability, whether the locked object provided with this locking device has already been opened.
According to regulations existing in many countries, and in the EU, the consumers of products such as, in particular, beverages and cosmetic products in bottles and containers are to be provided with the assurance that the correspondingly packaged product has never been opened since it was produced and packaged.
In the prior art, controllable seals of this sort often have a safety mechanism against accidental opening, and also enable detection, upon close inspection, of whether the seal has already been opened. However, this control function is often faulty, and the detection is often not possible without very close examination.
Thus, for example, in order to indicate manipulation of a container some locking devices use perforated lower collar areas of a locking cap made of metal or plastic, in which in order to remove the cap the collar area must be partially or completely detached from the cap. However, in particular if the collar remains on the cap and need only be broken, close inspection is required in order to discover that the container has already been opened.
If, on the other hand, the collar remains completely on the container, then, in particular in the case of metal collars, the perforation results in sharp edges that can result in injury, or that create problems when recycling the container, for example in the case of a bottle that is returnable for refund.